Mom’s summer holiday survival kit

There are roughly seven more weeks left of school and our kids will be all ours for the summer.

Our girls are at an age where they can play a lot of the day on their own and my role is moving into a supervisory one versus my old role as primary entertainer. So I am looking forward to my summers outside.

If you are looking for some ideas to relax and enjoy your summer days a little more while home with the kids, we’ve got you covered.

Slow cooker

Summer is not a time to be slaving over a hot stove every single day. Get more day out of your day and stay outside longer be making some easy meals in your slow cooker. Let a small appliance take care of the tough stuff.

All the magazines you can handle and more

With Next Issue Canada, you literally have any magazine you could possibly dream of (including their back issues), right on your tablet or smartphone. You can read up on gardening, gossip, recipes, healthy lifestyles, style, fashion, and more all from the comfort of your deck.

With access to over 100 magazines right from that little tablet of yours, you can catch up on anything you want. There are even some great magazines in there for the kids. Maybe you’ll even find some inspiration to start your next summer project.

Right now, it gets even better. I have a promo code to get you the first 60 days for FREE (this includes all back issues too). Head over to http://nextissue.ca and enter in promo code 60FREE. You will be asked to create an account if you don’t have one and include your credit card number, but you won’t be charged if you decide to cancel before the 60 days. After the 60 days, the charge is $9.99 which is about a magazine and a half per month if you were going to buy it in the store.

Since I’ve recently joined Weight Watchers, I’ve been reading their magazine on my Next Issue and catching up on all of the back issues for some healthy options (there is also Canadian Health & Lifestyle, Cooking Light, Eating Well and more).

Mini manis and pedis

If your kids are old enough that they don’t need you following five feet behind them all the time, take some time to give yourself a mini pedicure while you are outside. Pull out some lacquer, lotion and a nail file and get some me time in where you can.

Besides, painted summer toes always look fabulous.

Snacks

So this one if for you in a round about way. If your kids are starting to get big enough that they can get their own snacks; let them. Store healthy choices like fruit and vegetables (pre-cut) at the bottom of the fridge. You can also store nuts, seeds, popcorn, and other dry snacks at kid-level in the pantry.

At snack time, let them know what they can have and tell them they can pull out what they need on their own. As they get older they can begin making their own healthy choices.

This prepares them for fending for themselves later, and gives you a little break from running around all day.

Coffee, or wine. Or both.

Remember to set up those play dates with friends. It’s the perfect time to visit and catch up and let all of the kids play for a couple of hours.

Are the kids not cooperating?

Need to grab a couple hours of quiet, here are some quick (and fairly cheap) attention grabbers to buy you some time:

sprinklers

chalk (for the ground, or use with water for face and arm painting)

bubbles

watering cans (for the younger group that loves to water stuff)

other ideas? Leave a comment if you have anything to add.

Summer holidays are busy enough with activities away from the home. When it’s a ‘play in the yard until the sun sets’ kind of day, remember to take some time for yourself too.

This post is brought to you by Next Issue Canada, my favourite source for magazine reading. I love that you don’t need to be online to read; just download the issues you want, then you can go offline (I have a long flight in about a month, guess what I’ll be taking along). Since the magazines are now digital, many are very interactive with special features including video, animations and more. Remember to enter 60FREE on the Next Issue website for two months of free magazines. Opinions are my own.

Sheri publishes, and writes at This Bird’s Day where she shares all of the thoughts in her head without the voices. Sticking mainly with content for Canadians, Sheri shares family stories, product information and anything that fits into her (and her family’s) daily activities.